Eads hangs on for victory as Eagles defeat Briggsdale in 6-man state quarterfinal

Eagles to face rematch with Deer Trail in state semifinals

ByRhonda Uhland The Lamar Ledger

Posted:
11/06/2012 09:50:13 AM MST

EADS -- You know when it gets down to the state football quarterfinals that the teams are going to be tough.

That was the case in a 6-man showdown between the Eads Eagles and Briggsdale Falcons on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Eads.

It was a nail biter all the way to the end as both teams exchanged leads several times during the game.

When it was all said and done, Eads finished on top with a 52-46 victory.

Eads drew first blood when the Eagle scored on a 17-yard TD run by Blaine Winder. Jose Ramos kicked the extra point to make it 8-0.

Briggsdale scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 59-yards and 44-yards by Nathan Krise. Kicker Elliott Fassier managed to get one extra point through and put the Falcons ahead 14-8.

Eads answered when the Eagles scored on the first play of the second quarter when Tyler Rouse connected with Kyle Crow on a 25-yard TD strike. The extra point on a kick by Ramos but the game was knotted at 14-14.

Briggsdale then fought their way down the field and were sitting on the one-yard line when QB Jake Gorman found Austin Launer for the touchdown. Fassier nailed the extra point kick tomake 22-14.

The Falcons tried an onside kick on the ensuing kick off with Jose Ramos covering the ball on the 30-yard line to give Eads good field position.

A nice 36-yard pass from Rouse to Crow moved Eads to the Briggsdale' five-yard line. Winder then punched it in for the touchdown and the extra point kick by Ramos was good as the score stood tied at 22-22 at halftime.

Briggsdale received the second half kick off and turned the ball over when a pass by the Falcons was intercepted by Ramos at the Eads' 17 and returned all the way down to the five-yard line.

On the first play, Winder scored from five yards out and Ramos was perfect on the extra point to give Eads back the lead, 30-22.

Briggsdale was forced to punt on the next possession as the Eagles' defense held.

Eads worked their way down the field with runs by Winder and Weirich and a pass to Cory Miller which set up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Crow. Ramos was good again on the extra point to make it 38-22 for the Eagles.

It was far from over though as Briggsdale countered with their passing game and struck pay dirt on 15-yard pass from Gorman to Launer. The kick was good by to cut the Eads' lead to 38-30.

Eads answered when Taylor Weirich scored on a five-yard run. The kick by Ramos was no good as the Eagles held a 44-30 lead after the third quarter.

It was midway through the fourth quarter before either team managed any points.

Eads struck first when Winder crossed the end zone on a three-yard run. Ramos booted the extra point to give the Eagles a 52-30 lead.

From there the Eagles would not score again.

Briggsdale, meanwhile would score 14 points but it wasn't enough for the Falcons. On the ensuing kick off, a hard line drive kick by Kyle Crow hit the front line of Briggsdale and the Falcos started with excellent field position.

With 4:32 left in the fourth quarter, a 30-yard touchdown pass to Launer and the extra point kick by Fassier made it 52-38.

Eads then turned the ball over when a fumble by Winder was recovered by Briggsdale on Eads' 15-yard line.

Krise that took it across the goal line on a six-yard run. Fassler hit the extra point to moved the Falcons within six points, 52-46, with 2:22 left on the clock.

Briggsdale went for the on side kick again but Rouse was quick to cover the ball.

Behind the running of Winder and Weirich, Eads faced 3rd down and short when Winder carried the ball for the first down. But the play was called back on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Eads decided to punt on fourth down.

Things continued to disintegrate for the Eagles as the punt was blocked and Briggsdale was in possession at midfield with 1:21 left on the clock.

The Falcons went to the air and their first pass was complete but only to the line of scrimmage.

On 2nd-and- 15, another pass was caught and quickly taken out of bounds on the 31.

With an incomplete pass on third down, the Eagles were just down to one more play to hold on for the victory.

The next pass down the field fell incomplete but also falling to the ground was a yellow flag and Eads was penalized for pass interference giving Briggsdale four more opportunities to tie or win the game with the ball on the Eads' 15.

Eads dodged a bullet when the Falcons went to the running game and on a left side sweep crossed the goal line. But the touchdown was nullified on a penalty.

Eads had excellent pass coverage as another pass was incomplete.

As both teams came to the line another flag was thrown and Eads was penalized again for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It was the pass coverage by Eads that kept Briggsdale from scoring as several passes were knocked down and the Falcos turned the ball back over to the Eagles on downs.

Eads was able to take a knee to end the ball game.

Eads, now 9-1, advances to a semifinal showdown against Deer Trail (9-1). The game will be played in Eads on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m.

The Eagles will put a five-game winning streak on the line as they look to avenge their only loss which came at the hands of Deer Trail, 46-32, in the fifth game of the regular season.

Deer Trail's lone loss of the year was to Stratton, 47-21, on Oct. 19. Eads defeated Stratton, 54-34, during the third game of the season.

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